Global and free geospatial datasets for the study of floods, droughts and human societies

The availability of planetary-scale geospatial datasets that can support the study of water-related disasters in the Anthropocene is rapidly growing. We review over hundred global and free datasets allowing spatiotemporal analyses of floods, droughts and their interactions with human societies. The purpose of structuring a data collection for a broad range of variables is to foster data exchange and illustrate research opportunities across scientific disciplines.

Our collection of datasets confirms that the availability of geospatial data capturing hydrological hazards and exposure is far more mature than those capturing vulnerability aspects. We do not only highlight data applications by listing a selection of recent studies exploiting these global datasets, but also discuss challenges associated with using these datasets in comparative studies.  Specific discussion points include spatiotemporal resolution and coverage, inequalities of geographic representation, omission of detailed information at large scales, data consistency and accessibility, and dependencies between the datasets prohibiting interaction studies.